The present invention relates to a device for leveling door jambs. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with a device which allows the leveling of prefabricated metal door jambs without the use of wedges so that the door jambs may be very rapidly erected and secured to the floor during construction of a building in which doors or similar frames are to be installed.
Previous devices for aligning door jambs have included those described in the following U.S. Pat. No.: 2,689,412 to Young; U.S. Pat. No. 2,748,493 to Williams; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,855,695 to Buck. In the Buck patent there is described a vertical frame which is utilized within the door jamb to hold the jamb in alignment while wedges are used. In the Williams patent there is described the use of horizontal leveling means for a device which is intended to provide a frame within the door jamb. The Young patent discloses the use of hand screws to raise and lower a leveling device but there is no disclosure of the use of any type of jamb anchor feature for maintaining the door jamb in position.
By the present invention there is provided a device for use in leveling door jambs in a rapid and efficient manner without the use of wedges, shims or other aids of this type. The door jamb leveling device of the present invention includes a spacer plate assembly which, during use, is intended to extend along the floor between the inner surfaces of the sides of an upright door jamb. The spacer plate is provided on each end thereof with a lip extension of relatively thin construction which extends beneath the inner portion of each side of the jamb. A pair of leveler swivels are threadedly received in the spacer plate, one at each end thereof, to be controlled by hand screws for the purpose of raising and lowering the entire assembly. The upper surface of the spacer plate assembly is so constructed as to support a standard carpenter's level. The present leveling device also includes a pair of jamb anchors in the form of base plate members which are disposed with one anchor positioned within each of the side portions of the door jamb in position flush with the floor, said anchor plates having upstanding portions which conform to the interior configuration of the hollow side portions of the door jamb.
In order to level the door jamb, the spacer plate assembly is positioned on the floor so as to extend across the width of the proposed doorway. The jamb anchor plates are anchored to the floor adjacent each end of the spacer assembly and the door jamb is positioned so as to rest on the lip extensions of the spacer plate. The hand screws on the spacer plate assembly are turned, thus raising or lowering the spacer plate, until the sight glass in the carpenter's level shows the jamb to be in a level condition. Suitable securing means such as screws are then employed to secure the door jamb to the jamb anchor plates thus retaining the door jamb at the desired height. The spacer plate assembly may then be removed from the doorway and the jamb will remain mounted in a level condition on the anchor plates.
The door jamb leveling device of the present invention is particularly suitable for use with metal prefabricated door jambs and allows the leveling of such door jambs in a matter of minutes as compared with an hour or more which has been required to level door jambs by the use of previous methods using shims, wedges and the like.